The invention concerns connecting rods intended to limit relative movements between first and second rigid components, mainly in a longitudinal direction.
The connecting rods of the type in question are for example intended to connect, on the one hand, the bodyworks of vehicles and, on the other hand, the internal combustion engines of the vehicles considered, In particular (but not exclusively) pendular suspension engines.
They are assembled so as to work mainly in tension and in compression in their longitudinal direction.
Among these connecting rods, the invention concerns more particularly those including a long rigid body which extends approximately in the longitudinal direction and which connects first and second bushes, these two bushes being intended to be articulated respectively relative to the rigid components and having respectively central axes parallel to each other and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, said body comprising two opposite longitudinal sides on which are formed respectively first and second external longitudinal ribs which each extend between the two bushes, the connecting rod body comprising moreover at least one first transverse rib comprising:
a first part which connects the first bush and the first external longitudinal rib so as to form a first triangular structure with a first portion of said first bush and a first portion of the first external longitudinal rib,
and a second part connecting the first bush and the second external longitudinal rib so as to form a second triangular structure with a second portion of the said first bush and a first portion of the second external longitudinal rib.
The document GB-A-1 094 950 describes a connecting rod of this type, which has the disadvantage that its bushes can in certain cases deform by ovalisation following tensile forces supported by said connecting rod.
The particular object of the present invention is to remedy this disadvantage.
To this end, the first and the second external longitudinal ribs each comprise at least two parts which diverge respectively from first and second bushes forming with the longitudinal direction an acute angle greater than 10xc2x0.
Thanks to these arrangements, the resistance of the connecting rod vis-à-vis tensile forces is significantly improved, or on the contrary the mass of the connecting rod can be significantly reduced in order to obtain mechanical performances similar to the performances obtained in the prior art.
In preferred versions of the connecting rod according to the invention, recourse can possibly be had moreover to one and/or other of the following arrangements:
the first transverse rib is approximately rectilinear;
the first transverse rib is bent in its middle, having a concavity turned towards the second bush;
the body comprises in addition a second transverse rib which comprises:
a first part which connects the second bush and the first external longitudinal rib so as to form a third triangular structure with a first portion of said second bush and a second portion of the first external longitudinal rib,
and a second part connecting the second bush and the second external longitudinal rib so as to form a fourth triangular structure with a second portion of said second bush and a second portion of the second external longitudinal rib;
the second transverse rib is approximately rectilinear;
the second transverse rib is bent in its middle, having a concavity turned towards the first bush;
the two bushes are connected by at least one central longitudinal rib which is arranged between the first and second external longitudinal ribs and which is connected to each transverse rib;
the first and second external longitudinal ribs are approximately rectilinear;
the two divergent parts of each external longitudinal rib meet at the junction point between said external longitudinal rib and the first transverse rib
the two divergent parts of the first and second external longitudinal ribs are constituted respectively by said first and second portions of each external longitudinal rib, said first and second portions of each external longitudinal rib being connected by means of a rectilinear part which belongs to the corresponding external longitudinal rib.